Making Inception a Reality: Lucid Dreaming in Science Fiction and Technology

Intersect, Vol 9, No 2 (2016) Making Inception a Reality: Lucid Dreaming in Science Fiction and Technology Cindy Zang Liu Stanford University Abstract The concept of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer recognizes that he or she is dreaming and has some control over the direction of the dream, has become more widely recognized since the late twentieth century. With the success of science-fiction movies such as Inception (2010), in which the protagonists create, manipulate, and even “hijack” dreams, lucid dreaming has spread to the public. This popularity has contributed to a new market for dream technology, with consumer products aimed towards helping users experience lucid dreaming. At the same time, lucid dreaming has become more widely accepted in academia as a scientific field, especially in the fields of neuroscience and psychology. Researchers are using new technology to build upon existing knowledge of dreaming. However, there remains a disconnect between the public view of lucid dreaming and the actual state of the scientific field, in particular regarding recent developments in dream technology. This article focuses on the current relationships between depictions of lucid dreaming in popular culture and in academia. The comparison of lucid dreaming portrayals in these areas reveals connections between science-fiction ideas and actual scientific research, together contributing to an increased potential for advancing lucid dreaming technology in the future. Liu, Making Inception a Reality Introduction Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. — Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), Inception1 The 2010 science-fiction thriller Inception2, which features the idea of constructing, entering, and hijacking dreams, saw great success upon its release. While the film was filled with dramatic action scenes and amazingly realistic CGI, the scene that stuck with viewers the most was the ambiguous ending. The scene showed a spinning top, which the protagonist used to check if he was dreaming or awake. If the top fell, he was awake. If it kept spinning, he was dreaming. The ending was abruptly cut off before the fate of the top could be determined, leaving the interpretation to the viewer. The scene spread across the web, prompting debates and discussions on its meaning: Was it a dream or reality? Since the late twentieth century, dreaming—in particular, lucid dreaming, in which the dreamer realizes that he or she is dreaming and has some control over the direction of the dream—has become more widely recognized across a range of areas. The concept of lucid dreaming has spread in popular media with movies like Inception, as well as in scientific fields, with neuroscientific studies looking into brain stimulation and its effects upon dreaming. Alongside this increased prevalence has been a rise of technology focused on dreaming. For instance, new consumer products like the Remee sleep mask allow users to experience lucid dreaming, often for the first time. Advancing scientific technology has helped make dreaming more established in fields like neuroscience and psychology, increasing the future potential for further development of lucid dream technology. While dreaming has certainly risen in popularity, most people still do not know the complexities behind dreaming or associate dreaming with concrete science and technology, instead viewing it as merely an abstract concept. This raises the question of whether or not a similar disconnect exists between the concept of dreaming as shown in science fiction and the real scientific and theoretical developments that are currently shaping dreaming as a field of study. Looking at the past fifteen years in particular, a comparison of the depictions of lucid dreaming in popular culture, such as public media and consumer products, to depictions in academia reveals a gap between the current state of dream technology and the popular perception of lucid dreaming. However, at the same time, recent scientific and technological advances in dreaming are increasingly shaping dream 1 Thomas, E., & Nolan, C. (Producers), & Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures. 2 Inception follows protagonist Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a team of dream 2 Inception follows protagonist Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a team of dream specialists, whose task is to implant an idea into a business heir’s mind during a dream – a process called “inception.” Cobb and his team create an intricate plan with a system of dreams within dreams to accomplish this goal. 2 Intersect, Vol 9, No 2 (2016) Liu, Making Inception a Reality depictions in popular culture and directly influencing new dream consumer products. These advances are deepening our understanding of lucid dreaming, both as an abstract concept and a scientific area of study. Overview of Lucid Dreaming Although dreaming has yet to be fully accepted as a concrete field of science, it has long been a source of fascination for philosophers, artists, and scientists alike (Figures 1 and 2). The idea of lucid dreaming, in particular, has been explored as far back as ancient Greek times, with Aristotle mentioning lucid dreaming in his treatise On Dreams (Barrett & McNamara, 2007, p. 215). The first known written account of a lucid dream appeared in a letter written by St. Augustine in 415 A.D., and lucid dreaming has continued to appear in various literary and philosophical works (LaBerge, 1985, p. 19). However, without the understanding of the processes of the brain and reliable scientific methodology to study dreams, throughout most of history lucid dreaming has remained merely an interesting phenomenon noted by philosophers and casual dreamers. FIGURE 1. The Nightmare by Swiss painter Henry Fuseli (1781) depicts dreaming and sleep paralysis. 3 Intersect, Vol 9, No 2 (2016) Liu, Making Inception a Reality FIGURE 2. Artistic depiction of German chemist Auguste Kekulé’s famous dream, where the vision of a snake biting its tail led him to realize the ring structure of the compound benzene. According to psychologists and authors Celia Green and Charles McCreery (1994), “lucid dreams are those in which a person becomes aware that he is dreaming” (p. 1). With this awareness, the dreamer becomes “lucid” and is able to make conscious decisions and change the direction of the dream to varying degrees. Most dream scientists, such as dream researchers Jayne Gackenbach and Stephen LaBerge (1988), view lucid dreaming as a mixed state of both dreaming and consciousness (Figure 3); the dreamer has conscious awareness of his or her state while still showing the expected signs of REM sleep, the stage in which dreams occur (p. ix). Evan Thompson (2015), cognitive science writer and professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, notes that lucid dreamers often report “‘striking realism’ and ‘exquisite’ vision” as “typical features of strong lucid dreams” (p. 142). As such, lucid dreams are typically linked to vivid imagery, positive emotions, and creative freedom. They contain the potential to help researchers better understand consciousness, dream states, and cognitive abilities. 4 Intersect, Vol 9, No 2 (2016) Liu, Making Inception a Reality FIGURE 3. Schematic from Ursula and Georg Voss’ paper “A neurobiological model of lucid dreaming,” showing the link between consciousness and dreaming in lucid dreaming (Voss, 2014, p. 26). Rise of Lucid Dreaming in the Twentieth Century Lucid dreaming as a field of study only began gaining significant scientific and cultural momentum in the mid-1900s, a fact that psychophysiologist and leading dream researcher Stephen LaBerge (1985) attributes to the limitations in psychological knowledge and the lack of reliable scientific instruments for measuring dreams that preceded this time (p. 39). As a result, much of the existing scientific knowledge surrounding lucid dreaming was developed in the late twentieth century as a relatively new field of study. While the scientific basis of lucid dreams developed, the success of authors such as Celia Green, Charles Tart, and Carlos Casteneda helped lucid dreaming enter the realm of public interest. Lucid Dreaming and Early Psychology Although many important Western psychological theories developed in the early 20th century, lucid dreaming for the most part was left out of the discussion. One of the major reasons for this omission is the lack of coverage of lucid dreaming by Sigmund Freud, one of the most influential figures in psychology and psychoanalysis. For instance, according to writer Evan Thompson (2015), in Freud’s famous 1899 book The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud fails to mention lucid dreaming at all. Only in the republished versions of 1909 and 1914 did Freud add two paragraphs on the topic, and even in later works Freud fails to identify lucid dreaming as a unique state of dreaming. Thompson argues, “This neglect seems to have carried over into psychoanalysis in general, which to date has paid little attention to lucid dreaming” (p. 143). Lucid Dreaming as a New Scientific Field The term “lucid dreaming” was originally coined by Dutch writer and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 paper “Study of Dreams” 5 Intersect, Vol 9, No 2 (2016) Liu, Making Inception a Reality (LaBerge, 1985, p. 29). While dream researchers of the early 1900s studied lucid dreaming as a science, the general scientific community often denied the validity of lucid dreaming studies, pointing out that the data produced relied solely on personal accounts from subjects. However, developments in the scientific understanding of dreaming, such as the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (Figure 4) and new methods of recording brain activity during sleep using electroencephalograms (EEGs) in the 1950s, paved the way for the science of lucid dreaming (p. 44). FIGURE 4. Progression of sleep cycles in a standard night of sleep. The areas marked in red indicated REM sleep stages, which is when lucid dreams occur. Taken from the LucidDreamExplorers website.

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